ah those lovely boys at play.com. today i received my (very cheap) godfather trilogy dvd boxset.
i am as close to happy as i ever get.
it also means that now i have all my favourite films on dvd.
now all i need to do is get all the films of orson welles and john wayne and i can start obsessing about something else.
Tuesday, November 29, 2005
drat
david cameron must be thinking "shit what did i do to deserve that!"
he had survived the drug issue. he has seen off archer (big mistake i think) and it all looked to be plain sailing.
goodbye howard hello cameron - "i'm the leader, i'm the leader" (not that i am implying a gary glitter like element here).
but then this bombshell hits him
cameron is getting the support of the quiet man himself. yes the leader who almost roared is coming out and saying "cameron is my man."
i am sure cameron is thinking now i have ids on my side it is a slam dunk.
more likely he has his head in his hands and is gently sobbing.
he had survived the drug issue. he has seen off archer (big mistake i think) and it all looked to be plain sailing.
goodbye howard hello cameron - "i'm the leader, i'm the leader" (not that i am implying a gary glitter like element here).
but then this bombshell hits him
cameron is getting the support of the quiet man himself. yes the leader who almost roared is coming out and saying "cameron is my man."
i am sure cameron is thinking now i have ids on my side it is a slam dunk.
more likely he has his head in his hands and is gently sobbing.
going
well it is almost time for michael howard to step down.
he's been having a dinner with his mates at banqueting house (i wasn't invited, which was lucky as i don't have a black tie, i do think that not inviting me was bad form as i purposely decided not to stand against the boys).
so the party goers pay £300 a pop to sit there and listen to howard and a few others rabbit on about how much better things are looking for the tories. howard himself has said that he didn't get all he wanted to achieve done, but that they had made great inroads, positive steps etc etc.
but when you have friends such as peter stringfellow and chris woodhead turning up you just know that the party is always going to be one that is never going to get anywhere.
both the davids were there, their last chance to press flesh and make that dignified stand in order to show that they are the men to lead the party....
and frankly any dinner that has 400 people at it can't be worth £300 a head, surely this is just going to be posh canteen food.
if i ever win the lottery i won't be wasting it on posh food like that - think of the bloody pizzas i could have with that sort of money.
the fact that they can throw £300 down for a posh canteen meal shows how far divorced they are from the rest of us.
(oh and shed a tear for the republican who has had to quit his role in government for getting down for accepting bribes of $2.4 million dollars.... it is nice to see that sometimes the greedy and stupid do get caught.)
he's been having a dinner with his mates at banqueting house (i wasn't invited, which was lucky as i don't have a black tie, i do think that not inviting me was bad form as i purposely decided not to stand against the boys).
so the party goers pay £300 a pop to sit there and listen to howard and a few others rabbit on about how much better things are looking for the tories. howard himself has said that he didn't get all he wanted to achieve done, but that they had made great inroads, positive steps etc etc.
but when you have friends such as peter stringfellow and chris woodhead turning up you just know that the party is always going to be one that is never going to get anywhere.
both the davids were there, their last chance to press flesh and make that dignified stand in order to show that they are the men to lead the party....
and frankly any dinner that has 400 people at it can't be worth £300 a head, surely this is just going to be posh canteen food.
if i ever win the lottery i won't be wasting it on posh food like that - think of the bloody pizzas i could have with that sort of money.
the fact that they can throw £300 down for a posh canteen meal shows how far divorced they are from the rest of us.
(oh and shed a tear for the republican who has had to quit his role in government for getting down for accepting bribes of $2.4 million dollars.... it is nice to see that sometimes the greedy and stupid do get caught.)
graffiti
some examples of graffiti from around the east end of london.
(oh ok one of them is not really graffiti but is really fly-posting, but very attractive it is too.)
Monday, November 28, 2005
review
you may be wondering what has happened to the reviews.
pressure of work has stopped them.
but work is clearing up. so guess what: the reviews return very soon. just as soon as i have done something to review.
oh ok one for jay and shep.
doom with the rock. dull and dumb. wait for it to be on itv in two years time. the rock had done such a great job in a very very very poor film "be cool" but he sort of shot himself in the foot with this one.
only watch if there is nothing else on, or you are with drunken mates.
pressure of work has stopped them.
but work is clearing up. so guess what: the reviews return very soon. just as soon as i have done something to review.
oh ok one for jay and shep.
doom with the rock. dull and dumb. wait for it to be on itv in two years time. the rock had done such a great job in a very very very poor film "be cool" but he sort of shot himself in the foot with this one.
only watch if there is nothing else on, or you are with drunken mates.
smiths
what a con!
there i am thinking that places like the big chains abuse their buying power in order to get the lowest possible price so that they canundercut the local shop. put the local shop out of business and grow bigger and stronger.
you can see it with tescos. you can see it with sainsburys (even if they never have stock on their shelves). look at hmv and virgin (ok we know they can be cheaper but the principle is there). check out borders and waterstones - have the publishers over a barrel, pass the savings on to the consumer.
it all falls apart with wh smiths.
smiths is a chain of stores that sort of lost it's way a while back. has gone through many changes in order to get back on top. from line cuts to line expansions. it carves a big discount out of publishers and it charges for space on the shelves.
there i was in birmingham coming back from a show, needing something to drink. two bottles of pop, some chocolate and next thing i know i am lighter by £4. £1.19 each for the bottle. my local corner shop, who buys his pop from a cash and carry, is cheaper than that.
wh smiths must be the most expensive sellers of pop in the country.
they are making superprofit on the bottles they sell (even marks and spencers own brand stuff is cheaper and they are purposely expensive....)and who knows what else they are scoring high(er) profits on.
even so they are still not fully successful.
i tell you now wh smiths are gougers of the worst kind. boycott them now, except to stand around and read the magazines and steal the cover mount cds.
(oh and to buy copies of personal trainer for women)
there i am thinking that places like the big chains abuse their buying power in order to get the lowest possible price so that they canundercut the local shop. put the local shop out of business and grow bigger and stronger.
you can see it with tescos. you can see it with sainsburys (even if they never have stock on their shelves). look at hmv and virgin (ok we know they can be cheaper but the principle is there). check out borders and waterstones - have the publishers over a barrel, pass the savings on to the consumer.
it all falls apart with wh smiths.
smiths is a chain of stores that sort of lost it's way a while back. has gone through many changes in order to get back on top. from line cuts to line expansions. it carves a big discount out of publishers and it charges for space on the shelves.
there i was in birmingham coming back from a show, needing something to drink. two bottles of pop, some chocolate and next thing i know i am lighter by £4. £1.19 each for the bottle. my local corner shop, who buys his pop from a cash and carry, is cheaper than that.
wh smiths must be the most expensive sellers of pop in the country.
they are making superprofit on the bottles they sell (even marks and spencers own brand stuff is cheaper and they are purposely expensive....)and who knows what else they are scoring high(er) profits on.
even so they are still not fully successful.
i tell you now wh smiths are gougers of the worst kind. boycott them now, except to stand around and read the magazines and steal the cover mount cds.
(oh and to buy copies of personal trainer for women)
still
here are two images of the city.
urban still lifes.
the bottle is from the shoreditch high street. and surprisingly hard to capture (it was late, i was tired. i was going to go for the blurry drunken view but decided against it).
the leaf is from hyde park.
urban still lifes.
the bottle is from the shoreditch high street. and surprisingly hard to capture (it was late, i was tired. i was going to go for the blurry drunken view but decided against it).
the leaf is from hyde park.
ugh
my sleep pattern is screwed.
nooded off early. woke up at 2am for a drink of coke (oh and a bar of chocolate), drifted off again and then awake at 4am, more fizzy pop, more snooze and then awake at 5.30 am.
listened to the radio and guess what radio 5 live have someone on from the cbi. not only does this person from the cbi sound like digby jones but also has the same whiney not our fault nothing to do with us tone to his voice that digby has.
this time it's the government's fault that the transport system is crap. they should spend more money on it, but don't raise taxes (well at least not on the businesses and the rich, everyone elese is fair game....) not a word about the fact most of the rail is in the hands of private (for profit) companies, not a word of the fact that previously the rail infrastructuew was in the hands of a for profit organisation that wanted hand outs from the state while paying big bonuses to the bosses and dividends to the shareholders.....
yeah capitalism rocks when someone else is paying your bills.
think i am going to start listening to jazz fm in the morning.
nooded off early. woke up at 2am for a drink of coke (oh and a bar of chocolate), drifted off again and then awake at 4am, more fizzy pop, more snooze and then awake at 5.30 am.
listened to the radio and guess what radio 5 live have someone on from the cbi. not only does this person from the cbi sound like digby jones but also has the same whiney not our fault nothing to do with us tone to his voice that digby has.
this time it's the government's fault that the transport system is crap. they should spend more money on it, but don't raise taxes (well at least not on the businesses and the rich, everyone elese is fair game....) not a word about the fact most of the rail is in the hands of private (for profit) companies, not a word of the fact that previously the rail infrastructuew was in the hands of a for profit organisation that wanted hand outs from the state while paying big bonuses to the bosses and dividends to the shareholders.....
yeah capitalism rocks when someone else is paying your bills.
think i am going to start listening to jazz fm in the morning.
Sunday, November 27, 2005
id
well it looks like more bad news for the proponents of id cards.
fraud, computer overload and costs are all being sited as reasons not to go ahead.
i have to admit i am not a great fan of the id card, although there have been times when it would have made my life easier. but i am one of those people who would rather not being leaving a large footprint of who and where i have been.
but we seem to be happy to use our bank cards, our loyalty cards and such like. our mobiles track our movements. we are under cctv a lot of the time.
perhaps it is because these are not associated with the state that we don't care?
more on this later.
fraud, computer overload and costs are all being sited as reasons not to go ahead.
i have to admit i am not a great fan of the id card, although there have been times when it would have made my life easier. but i am one of those people who would rather not being leaving a large footprint of who and where i have been.
but we seem to be happy to use our bank cards, our loyalty cards and such like. our mobiles track our movements. we are under cctv a lot of the time.
perhaps it is because these are not associated with the state that we don't care?
gobsmacked
apparently blair was double crossed by the americans over the reasons they wanted to go to war in iraq!
they wanted regime change, but they didn't tell blair.
probably the only person in the world who didn't think it was about regime change must have been blair. everyone else seem to believe it was about regime change and getting the oil.
so blair made all the right noises but for the wrong causes.
what makes the american decision to go for regime change even worse is that they had nothing to put in it's place. what on earth were they thinking.
you make the decision to get rid of one ruling party and then have nothing to replace it.
no wonder it went tits up.
they wanted regime change, but they didn't tell blair.
probably the only person in the world who didn't think it was about regime change must have been blair. everyone else seem to believe it was about regime change and getting the oil.
so blair made all the right noises but for the wrong causes.
what makes the american decision to go for regime change even worse is that they had nothing to put in it's place. what on earth were they thinking.
you make the decision to get rid of one ruling party and then have nothing to replace it.
no wonder it went tits up.
weekend
been a shit weekend.
nothing has gone quite to plan.
i have acted like a twat.
i need to destress and take a good look at myself.
(and no jay i am not signing up for a session or two with you...)
nothing has gone quite to plan.
i have acted like a twat.
i need to destress and take a good look at myself.
(and no jay i am not signing up for a session or two with you...)
Saturday, November 26, 2005
pictures
so here are a few pics from the trip around london.
tower bridge. still loveley after all these years. i once did some arty blakc and whites on there, gave one to a mate, years later i asked him who did that it's really good - he said me. chuffed was i.
the greater london assembly building. london is having a bit of an image problem at the moment. on the north bank you have swiss re building or erotic gherkin (it is very phallic but would need very big batteries to get a decent hum out of it...) and on the south bank you have this. from the angle i have taken the picture it looks like something from power rangers, from the side it is a knob head. i think it says something about iconic buildings.
the wobbly bridge and st pauls. poetry on the thames.
tower bridge. still loveley after all these years. i once did some arty blakc and whites on there, gave one to a mate, years later i asked him who did that it's really good - he said me. chuffed was i.
the greater london assembly building. london is having a bit of an image problem at the moment. on the north bank you have swiss re building or erotic gherkin (it is very phallic but would need very big batteries to get a decent hum out of it...) and on the south bank you have this. from the angle i have taken the picture it looks like something from power rangers, from the side it is a knob head. i think it says something about iconic buildings.
the wobbly bridge and st pauls. poetry on the thames.
foggy
i missed (geddit) the chance to post this the night it happen.
it was foggy when i was standing around waiting for a bus to take me from work to home.
when i got home (a couple of miles) it was as clear as night (and a very brisk night it was too, not quite brass monkeys but getting there...)
archer
he's back.
the man is back.
the world of politics is fun again.
jeff jeff jeff jeff.
he must have a book ready to publish.
it means more of the fragrant mary.
it means more scandal (and fun scandal at that - the tories seem to have fun when they get into trouble....)
now if only they have the sense to put jeff and boris in the shadow cabinet then they have a chance to win.
(not that i actually want them to, but it would be nice to have someone challenging the new labour party's slide into old torism.)
the man is back.
the world of politics is fun again.
jeff jeff jeff jeff.
he must have a book ready to publish.
it means more of the fragrant mary.
it means more scandal (and fun scandal at that - the tories seem to have fun when they get into trouble....)
now if only they have the sense to put jeff and boris in the shadow cabinet then they have a chance to win.
(not that i actually want them to, but it would be nice to have someone challenging the new labour party's slide into old torism.)
Thursday, November 24, 2005
binge
new licensing laws come in the day george best dies.
you can see the headlines now.
the red tops must love it when this happens.
you can see the headlines now.
the red tops must love it when this happens.
draconian
some of the people i know get into a real tizzy about the current government comparing it to stalin's ussr, or hitler's fascists or just throw in orwell's 1984 for good measure.
i always have a rueful smile when they tell me this because it always amuses me that firstly that they think that the rights and freedoms they say have been (or are about to be) taken away where somehow there all the time and that somehow that this are naturally ours to have in the first place (mostly they have been granted us because of the spilled blood of a few noble people who fought for these rights and freedoms).
but for some people arguing in the absolute without historical thought is the best way, it makes more sense that way and a lot less messy....
anyway you ask what has gotten you worked up now pat?
well one of the recent governments rules has kicked in and now one of the first attempts to have a protest has been stopped.
a group of black cabbies have been told that if they try to protest the congestion charge outside of the houses of parliament they may face prosecution.
oh well who cares about democracy these days....
perhaps what the cabbies need to do is tell any mps who get into their cabs they are just not going south of the river!
or perhaps they should be able to protest outside the houses of parliament in a peaceful manner, as befits a democracy.
i think the smile has been wiped off my face.
i always have a rueful smile when they tell me this because it always amuses me that firstly that they think that the rights and freedoms they say have been (or are about to be) taken away where somehow there all the time and that somehow that this are naturally ours to have in the first place (mostly they have been granted us because of the spilled blood of a few noble people who fought for these rights and freedoms).
but for some people arguing in the absolute without historical thought is the best way, it makes more sense that way and a lot less messy....
anyway you ask what has gotten you worked up now pat?
well one of the recent governments rules has kicked in and now one of the first attempts to have a protest has been stopped.
a group of black cabbies have been told that if they try to protest the congestion charge outside of the houses of parliament they may face prosecution.
oh well who cares about democracy these days....
perhaps what the cabbies need to do is tell any mps who get into their cabs they are just not going south of the river!
or perhaps they should be able to protest outside the houses of parliament in a peaceful manner, as befits a democracy.
i think the smile has been wiped off my face.
guide
well what have i learnt on my few days playing tourist guide?
that london (unlike nottingham) is filled with wonderous things.
that some of these wonderous things are expensive and can't truly be seen in a day.
that i know very little about the place.
that it is very easy to spend money.
that my knees hurt when i walk too much.
that i am not the best communicator in the world (actually working life proves that every day - i ithink i am speaking clear english, but from what the results are my colleagues must be hearing incan!)
that i must go out and do it again.
as some have said: london rocks!
that london (unlike nottingham) is filled with wonderous things.
that some of these wonderous things are expensive and can't truly be seen in a day.
that i know very little about the place.
that it is very easy to spend money.
that my knees hurt when i walk too much.
that i am not the best communicator in the world (actually working life proves that every day - i ithink i am speaking clear english, but from what the results are my colleagues must be hearing incan!)
that i must go out and do it again.
as some have said: london rocks!
Wednesday, November 23, 2005
tourist
i am being touristy as i am taking an american colleague out and about the town today.
expect photos.
expect stories.
expect tales of consumerism.
expect photos.
expect stories.
expect tales of consumerism.
7000
just reached 7000 hits.
woo hoo - sad to be happy about it i know.
the hits have slowed down, i have lost my audience they have all gone to cliff, jay and emma.
my thanks go to annoymous for making the blog a continued hit: i just love bookmarking you all.
woo hoo - sad to be happy about it i know.
the hits have slowed down, i have lost my audience they have all gone to cliff, jay and emma.
my thanks go to annoymous for making the blog a continued hit: i just love bookmarking you all.
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
irony
tony blair was being grilled by a number of mps today.
he is one of the few prime ministers to allow them to question him like this.
i heard him protect lord john "blue sky thinking deep wallets" birt from having to come before select committees, i suspect not because they would discover that birt adds nothing to anything but that they would be appalled he was being paid to be so useless. see new labour does indeed enjoy the working practices of the business world.
then he went on about nuclear power stations being one of the best ways to secure the uk's power needs, does that mean they will remain a nationalised concern? or does it mean that the uk tax payer will underwrite it all but within months the plants will be sold off to the highest bidder?
and on iran and their nuclear ambitions blair says of iran that they are "meddling in iraq". now i wonder who else that could be said of. if ever there was a case of the pot calling the kettle black this is it.
there is an eerie sense of deja vu as blair talks about iran - some of these reasons sound like the reasons used for invasion of iraq...
could it be?
could it be?
nah they couldn't.... could they.
he is one of the few prime ministers to allow them to question him like this.
i heard him protect lord john "blue sky thinking deep wallets" birt from having to come before select committees, i suspect not because they would discover that birt adds nothing to anything but that they would be appalled he was being paid to be so useless. see new labour does indeed enjoy the working practices of the business world.
then he went on about nuclear power stations being one of the best ways to secure the uk's power needs, does that mean they will remain a nationalised concern? or does it mean that the uk tax payer will underwrite it all but within months the plants will be sold off to the highest bidder?
and on iran and their nuclear ambitions blair says of iran that they are "meddling in iraq". now i wonder who else that could be said of. if ever there was a case of the pot calling the kettle black this is it.
there is an eerie sense of deja vu as blair talks about iran - some of these reasons sound like the reasons used for invasion of iraq...
could it be?
could it be?
nah they couldn't.... could they.
sport
two sport stories from the bbc.
i love basketball, and i defy anyone to watch mj in action and not be in awe.
it is one of the few sports where your dominance in the game more often than not translates to a win. there is an ebb and flow with the game that is wonderful to watch. i have sat transfixed at games cheering my team on to triumph or supporting them in defeat. i just love the game.
many have argued that sports and politics are linked. think the sporting ban against south africa, think the americans walking out of the moscow olympics, think the black power salute at the olympics, think the principled stand we took against zimbabwe over the cricket (ok that one is a lie…)
in reality sport, like politics, is about money. no longer is the taking part enough what counts is the winning and the bank balance.
anyway it is nice to see that even the americans can extend the hand of friendship across the sporting globe and have a player in the iranian basketball league. far be it from me to say it’s because he is not good enough to get into any of the american leagues….
i loved the typical english understatement in this “he is a staggering 217cm (7ft 2in) tall - a giant by iranian standards.” because as you know round here we would be calling him titch! (actually in the world of the sporting nickname that is exactly what the sun newspaper would end up calling him…)
go here for it
the second one was about gym culture. now i used to like to go to the gym, i knew i was never going to be a lithe fit muscular chap, but i hoped i would put some tone on the flab, i have come to love the flab and have forgotten the desire to be a six pack phenom (unless it was a six pack of doughnuts!)
when i do go to the gym i am not the most fashion conscious of people. never saw the point of it especially as soon i was into the work out i would be pumping out sweat like i had sprung a leak. basically i am a sweat monster and a slob to boot.
so you can appreciate i feel sympathy for this bloke who had been told to wear a t-shirt and not a vest because he had hairy armpits and his sweat might damage the equipment.
there are only two things you can make of this story:
one he has gone to a girl’s gym because we know they only glow.
two this is so typical of new labour, yet another attack on personal liberty and freedoms!
other recent sports stories i nearly wrote about: the shocking revelation that humans may have reached the end as far as sporting records are concerned. what stunned me with this was that anyone thought that records could keep be bettered! i do recall a conversation where someone had suggested that all world records be scrapped and that they were started again. while a totally dumb idea, what i liked was the chance that you could scrap them and then quickly run a race and become a world record holder.
think of all the guinness book of records that would sell.
the other story was the bloke who is trying to get into women’s only golf tournaments, after the young american female golfer had been accepted into the masters’ tournament recently.
on a theoretical level i can see his point: equality has to go both ways (an argument also being made by a male nurse in a recent work tribunal) but on a practical level why bother – how are you going to face your mates on the tour when you have to come back and say you didn’t win….
he would have been better off arguing that there should be mixed events, but then he wasn’t after justice, he just wanted publicity.
i love basketball, and i defy anyone to watch mj in action and not be in awe.
it is one of the few sports where your dominance in the game more often than not translates to a win. there is an ebb and flow with the game that is wonderful to watch. i have sat transfixed at games cheering my team on to triumph or supporting them in defeat. i just love the game.
many have argued that sports and politics are linked. think the sporting ban against south africa, think the americans walking out of the moscow olympics, think the black power salute at the olympics, think the principled stand we took against zimbabwe over the cricket (ok that one is a lie…)
in reality sport, like politics, is about money. no longer is the taking part enough what counts is the winning and the bank balance.
anyway it is nice to see that even the americans can extend the hand of friendship across the sporting globe and have a player in the iranian basketball league. far be it from me to say it’s because he is not good enough to get into any of the american leagues….
i loved the typical english understatement in this “he is a staggering 217cm (7ft 2in) tall - a giant by iranian standards.” because as you know round here we would be calling him titch! (actually in the world of the sporting nickname that is exactly what the sun newspaper would end up calling him…)
go here for it
the second one was about gym culture. now i used to like to go to the gym, i knew i was never going to be a lithe fit muscular chap, but i hoped i would put some tone on the flab, i have come to love the flab and have forgotten the desire to be a six pack phenom (unless it was a six pack of doughnuts!)
when i do go to the gym i am not the most fashion conscious of people. never saw the point of it especially as soon i was into the work out i would be pumping out sweat like i had sprung a leak. basically i am a sweat monster and a slob to boot.
so you can appreciate i feel sympathy for this bloke who had been told to wear a t-shirt and not a vest because he had hairy armpits and his sweat might damage the equipment.
there are only two things you can make of this story:
one he has gone to a girl’s gym because we know they only glow.
two this is so typical of new labour, yet another attack on personal liberty and freedoms!
other recent sports stories i nearly wrote about: the shocking revelation that humans may have reached the end as far as sporting records are concerned. what stunned me with this was that anyone thought that records could keep be bettered! i do recall a conversation where someone had suggested that all world records be scrapped and that they were started again. while a totally dumb idea, what i liked was the chance that you could scrap them and then quickly run a race and become a world record holder.
think of all the guinness book of records that would sell.
the other story was the bloke who is trying to get into women’s only golf tournaments, after the young american female golfer had been accepted into the masters’ tournament recently.
on a theoretical level i can see his point: equality has to go both ways (an argument also being made by a male nurse in a recent work tribunal) but on a practical level why bother – how are you going to face your mates on the tour when you have to come back and say you didn’t win….
he would have been better off arguing that there should be mixed events, but then he wasn’t after justice, he just wanted publicity.
beard
was growing it. decided against it. shaved it. back to being a goatee person.
pics of the shaving to come.
pics of the shaving to come.
coast
i love the coast. i love the sea. i spent several hours at the weekend just sitting listening to the waves swooooshing against the beach.
sadly i didn't have a tripod so you will have to enjoy these slightly blurry pictures (it's art pat, it's art.... give that man a turner prize!)
check out how dark it gets out there at sea.
sadly i didn't have a tripod so you will have to enjoy these slightly blurry pictures (it's art pat, it's art.... give that man a turner prize!)
check out how dark it gets out there at sea.
Monday, November 21, 2005
digby
i have written about digby in the past. i will write about him in the future (a deeply depressing thought that is...)
today he woke me up to complain about the price of gas and that the government should work out a coherent and integrated energy strategy.
mmm hold on digby dear chap - arn't the energy companies in private hands? arn't they just making profit as they see fit? isn't it all about supply and demand? surely these (often not english) energy companies should be looking into alternative energy supplies as part of their r&d?
no of course not that is what the government should do, with our tax money - because you and the cbi do not want to pay reasonable taxes.....
typical.
oh if that was not bad enough he has a whinge about the money the government might be spending on the unions because of the warwick agreement. the government shouldn't get involved there as it might upset a businessman or two (and digby is as two men) but when it comes to them doing somehting that might aid the workers then it should be hands off.
it wouldn't be so bad if he was challanged and questioned on this sort of stuff, but he isn't. he is just left to say what he likes.
hate him.
i really should stop listening to radio 5.
today he woke me up to complain about the price of gas and that the government should work out a coherent and integrated energy strategy.
mmm hold on digby dear chap - arn't the energy companies in private hands? arn't they just making profit as they see fit? isn't it all about supply and demand? surely these (often not english) energy companies should be looking into alternative energy supplies as part of their r&d?
no of course not that is what the government should do, with our tax money - because you and the cbi do not want to pay reasonable taxes.....
typical.
oh if that was not bad enough he has a whinge about the money the government might be spending on the unions because of the warwick agreement. the government shouldn't get involved there as it might upset a businessman or two (and digby is as two men) but when it comes to them doing somehting that might aid the workers then it should be hands off.
it wouldn't be so bad if he was challanged and questioned on this sort of stuff, but he isn't. he is just left to say what he likes.
hate him.
i really should stop listening to radio 5.
cold
was in brighton over the weekend for a work related event.
booked into a hotel.
i should have known from the start it was a mistake to go there as it was called the quality hotel. the only part of the q u a l i t y was applicable was the y as in "why am i here?"
it was very cold in the room. the heater defied the laws of thermodynamics. right up close it was the heat of the sun coming from it, an inch away artic cold.
i discovered that terrestial tv is shite, or is everytime i turned it on, (though fearne cotton is lovely).
but to sit and listen to the sea at 1am in the morning was nice (though i think the cold beach has added to my piles...)
booked into a hotel.
i should have known from the start it was a mistake to go there as it was called the quality hotel. the only part of the q u a l i t y was applicable was the y as in "why am i here?"
it was very cold in the room. the heater defied the laws of thermodynamics. right up close it was the heat of the sun coming from it, an inch away artic cold.
i discovered that terrestial tv is shite, or is everytime i turned it on, (though fearne cotton is lovely).
but to sit and listen to the sea at 1am in the morning was nice (though i think the cold beach has added to my piles...)
relaxed
the work stress is over. i can almost relax now.
guts are still in a little turmoil. will be even worse shortly as i am off for a curry.
evacuate the area now.
guts are still in a little turmoil. will be even worse shortly as i am off for a curry.
evacuate the area now.
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
booze
i don’t drink. i gave up when most people are starting, one of the things i can thank my parents for.
i have no problems with people drinking, most of the people i know who drink generally know when to stop, and when they are pissed are happy drunks.
as i am someone who has lots of trouble getting to sleep the idea that pubs might be open much later is an attractive one as it means there is somewhere to go in the early morning that isn’t a club with banging music and young hip clubbers.
it’s about choice.
so why are the tories so against it? they claim it is a law and order thing. they say it is a social thing – longer drinking hours means more binge drinking they say. they say it will lead to more anti-social behaviour and i think if you pressed them they would say that longer drinking hours is going to lead to a growth of satanism and was responsible for the sinking of the titanic.
as i understand it – the 24 hour licensing law is not compulsory and most pubs will probably close at their usual hour or maybe just a bit later. the fact that you have longer to drink will mean you will not rush to finish of a few drinks before last orders (and as the child of alcoholics i know that binge drinking takes place just as much in the comfort of the home as it does in the pubs).
plus those pesky teenagers who are binge drinking and being anti-social are generally doing it in clubs that are already open late.
for all their chatter about allowing people to have choice, for all their picking on new labour for being a nanny state: the moment that new labour passes a law that
1] allows people to have choice
2] that allows for liberalisation of licensing laws and
3] removes restrictions on the freedom of the people
is the moment that the tories get up in arms and complaining……
me i think that the tories are just a bit miffed that with 24 hour drinking their special little drinking clubs are not special anymore.
i have no problems with people drinking, most of the people i know who drink generally know when to stop, and when they are pissed are happy drunks.
as i am someone who has lots of trouble getting to sleep the idea that pubs might be open much later is an attractive one as it means there is somewhere to go in the early morning that isn’t a club with banging music and young hip clubbers.
it’s about choice.
so why are the tories so against it? they claim it is a law and order thing. they say it is a social thing – longer drinking hours means more binge drinking they say. they say it will lead to more anti-social behaviour and i think if you pressed them they would say that longer drinking hours is going to lead to a growth of satanism and was responsible for the sinking of the titanic.
as i understand it – the 24 hour licensing law is not compulsory and most pubs will probably close at their usual hour or maybe just a bit later. the fact that you have longer to drink will mean you will not rush to finish of a few drinks before last orders (and as the child of alcoholics i know that binge drinking takes place just as much in the comfort of the home as it does in the pubs).
plus those pesky teenagers who are binge drinking and being anti-social are generally doing it in clubs that are already open late.
for all their chatter about allowing people to have choice, for all their picking on new labour for being a nanny state: the moment that new labour passes a law that
1] allows people to have choice
2] that allows for liberalisation of licensing laws and
3] removes restrictions on the freedom of the people
is the moment that the tories get up in arms and complaining……
me i think that the tories are just a bit miffed that with 24 hour drinking their special little drinking clubs are not special anymore.
porn
i love porn. i watch it, i read it and i look at it. i am a (self)abuser of porn and i have never denied it.
i don’t think i am particularly unique in my love and consumption of porn. i don’t think i am particularly special in my ability to tell the difference between the porn fantasy and the real world (and i suspect most consumers of porn have a better understanding of the division between reality and fantasy than many of the fans of soaps….)
anyway here i am scanning through the internet (and not just looking for porn) when i come (geddit!!!) upon this story on the bbc website.
now i feel sorry for the mother who has lost her daughter.
and i have no sympathy for the man who committed the deed, and would not shed a liberal tear if he was locked away for good.
but i do have problems with the fact that one person who had an obsession for porn is somehow typical of the rest of us who have an obsession with porn. you would have thought by now that this sort of argument had been knocked on the head. especially as it has never been proved when it has been aimed at violent movies (if we are such a violent society now why are films such as driller killer (very very boring …. oh i couldn’t help it , but it is a dull dull stupid film) i spit on your grave that were for so long banned as video nasties are now in the bargain bins of hmv? ), when it was argued that heavy metal lyrics were responsible for suicide or shooting up your school friends or when it was computer games or tv or well anything that could be a handy excuse.
sometimes i think the grasping for the “reason/ excuse” is because people do not want to think that other people can be evil, and would rather find a reason that in a sense absolves the person for responsibility.
maybe it’s because we know that people are evil and we can’t do anything about it so we choose to look for something we can ban, something we can blame.
but lets be honest if porn, even violent porn, had this sort of effect (and this goes for video games, movies, tv and music) on all the people that consume it there would be rioting on the streets and we would be living in a state of constant fear and chaos.
we are not. why? because the people who commit these sort of murders are few and far between. furthermore they would commit these crimes sooner or later and all they are waiting for is a trigger and it could be anything.
but do we ban everything that might have been an obsession (or just an interest) for the person?
if the criminal in question turned out to be a philatelist i doubt very much there would be a call to ban stamp collecting.
one of the things i do find interesting is that none of these people are saying that the art that populates the national gallery, for instance (and one of the finest places to be to see art) should be removed from the public gaze because of what it might cause a person to do. frankly if you want to see sex and violence then go to the national gallery and see torture, see naked men and women, see violence with naked men and women, see rape, see murder and see naked babies. it is all there in glorious colour, but it is art. and because it is classical art it is fine.
yet it could be argued that because the art in places like the national gallery the art is generally viewed in solitude, there is little context for explaining the images and the viewer is often alone and is not going to discuss it with others. yet often computer games and videos are social events and discussed avidly between viewers and players.
the argument that watching this sort of material causes you to become a murderer is a fallacious one, and it is just has hard to prove as it is to deny.
for me it is an argument that holds as much truth to it as andrea dworkin assertion that all men are rapists.
in short it is utter tosh.
i don’t think i am particularly unique in my love and consumption of porn. i don’t think i am particularly special in my ability to tell the difference between the porn fantasy and the real world (and i suspect most consumers of porn have a better understanding of the division between reality and fantasy than many of the fans of soaps….)
anyway here i am scanning through the internet (and not just looking for porn) when i come (geddit!!!) upon this story on the bbc website.
now i feel sorry for the mother who has lost her daughter.
and i have no sympathy for the man who committed the deed, and would not shed a liberal tear if he was locked away for good.
but i do have problems with the fact that one person who had an obsession for porn is somehow typical of the rest of us who have an obsession with porn. you would have thought by now that this sort of argument had been knocked on the head. especially as it has never been proved when it has been aimed at violent movies (if we are such a violent society now why are films such as driller killer (very very boring …. oh i couldn’t help it , but it is a dull dull stupid film) i spit on your grave that were for so long banned as video nasties are now in the bargain bins of hmv? ), when it was argued that heavy metal lyrics were responsible for suicide or shooting up your school friends or when it was computer games or tv or well anything that could be a handy excuse.
sometimes i think the grasping for the “reason/ excuse” is because people do not want to think that other people can be evil, and would rather find a reason that in a sense absolves the person for responsibility.
maybe it’s because we know that people are evil and we can’t do anything about it so we choose to look for something we can ban, something we can blame.
but lets be honest if porn, even violent porn, had this sort of effect (and this goes for video games, movies, tv and music) on all the people that consume it there would be rioting on the streets and we would be living in a state of constant fear and chaos.
we are not. why? because the people who commit these sort of murders are few and far between. furthermore they would commit these crimes sooner or later and all they are waiting for is a trigger and it could be anything.
but do we ban everything that might have been an obsession (or just an interest) for the person?
if the criminal in question turned out to be a philatelist i doubt very much there would be a call to ban stamp collecting.
one of the things i do find interesting is that none of these people are saying that the art that populates the national gallery, for instance (and one of the finest places to be to see art) should be removed from the public gaze because of what it might cause a person to do. frankly if you want to see sex and violence then go to the national gallery and see torture, see naked men and women, see violence with naked men and women, see rape, see murder and see naked babies. it is all there in glorious colour, but it is art. and because it is classical art it is fine.
yet it could be argued that because the art in places like the national gallery the art is generally viewed in solitude, there is little context for explaining the images and the viewer is often alone and is not going to discuss it with others. yet often computer games and videos are social events and discussed avidly between viewers and players.
the argument that watching this sort of material causes you to become a murderer is a fallacious one, and it is just has hard to prove as it is to deny.
for me it is an argument that holds as much truth to it as andrea dworkin assertion that all men are rapists.
in short it is utter tosh.
stressed
stressed at work.
stressed by a friendship.
bowels are irritatable.
want coffee and chocolate. probably a fatal combination, but hey let's live a little.
stressed by a friendship.
bowels are irritatable.
want coffee and chocolate. probably a fatal combination, but hey let's live a little.
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
coffee
i love coffee.
i need coffee.
i crave coffee.
i am a coffee addict.
if i haven't had a shot of joe in the morning i am not a happy bunny, some would say i am never a happy bunny regardless of my coffee intake.
i love coffee and i am not ashamed to admit it.
i need coffee.
i crave coffee.
i am a coffee addict.
if i haven't had a shot of joe in the morning i am not a happy bunny, some would say i am never a happy bunny regardless of my coffee intake.
i love coffee and i am not ashamed to admit it.
Friday, November 11, 2005
cherie
she is not in my top tory totty list. (though she qualifies as a neo-tory)
i don't find her attractive.
but someone has decided to do something odd and kinky.
only go here if you have a strong strong stomach. or you have bizarre tastes.
http://www.waspbox.com/gallery/Mrs_Blair_2006.pdf
(emma, it's one for jay - that says it all!)
it did make me smile.
(and here is another one that made me smile .... this is just odd, and shows the cultural difference between us and the japanese.....
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-123322263707848424)
i don't find her attractive.
but someone has decided to do something odd and kinky.
only go here if you have a strong strong stomach. or you have bizarre tastes.
http://www.waspbox.com/gallery/Mrs_Blair_2006.pdf
(emma, it's one for jay - that says it all!)
it did make me smile.
(and here is another one that made me smile .... this is just odd, and shows the cultural difference between us and the japanese.....
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-123322263707848424)
wax
on the way home last night i felt a tickle in my ear.
nothing odd about that: it was windy, i have lots of hair sometimes, it tickles. simple.
except this tickle moved.
i tilt my head a little, put my finger to my ear, thinking maybe there is a bug in there. and lo i have an ear wax ball. it looked like marzipan.
eeeeewwwwww.
just thought i would share.
nothing odd about that: it was windy, i have lots of hair sometimes, it tickles. simple.
except this tickle moved.
i tilt my head a little, put my finger to my ear, thinking maybe there is a bug in there. and lo i have an ear wax ball. it looked like marzipan.
eeeeewwwwww.
just thought i would share.
Thursday, November 10, 2005
review
the media overload that has engulfed me hit me hard the other night, no idea what to watch or what to listen to… should i listen to the new ramstein cd or watch a dvd or a video or read….. i opted to just pick out a dvd.
i ended up with “cold and dark”; it’s a slick looking british horror movie. filled with interesting camera angles, an icy blue palette, hard boiled dialogue and delivery and a bit of gore. on paper that sounds like a great movie, have to admit it just didn’t keep me interested. my attention drifted and i moved from watching the movie to playing with my camera, back to the movie and so on.
while on a case john dark’s partner mortimer shade is killed but is kept alive by the parasitic monster: the grall. the scene where we know something is wrong with shade is when john dark (played by the buffed up luke goss) thinking his partner is dead is shocked when he jumps up, as they walk away another corpse spontaneously combusts. (the only problem here is that the opening sequences of the movie sets up shade as being something special and supernatural to start with…)
the case they are on is something to do with people smuggling. the ring they are after is protected. shade, now powered by grall, has powers and so together he and john dark throw out due process and do the right thing.
at first dark goes along with this, but he soon thinks that shade is losing his humanity and something has to be done about it.
and something is done, but hand on heart i was paying so little attention i think i missed it.
one of the reasons i found it hard to pay full attention to it was the moments of ott thesbing from one or two of the supporting cast. there is the scottish chief inspector, with a gorgeous clipped but full white goatee, who has a peculiar whispery and shouty delivery. rather than him being a man in charge he appears like a man who is on the merry –go-round of personality disorders.
then there is the appearance of matt lucas who can be an effective actor, but in this he goes from being sufficiently spooky to auditioning for a children’s television version of the x-files.
perhaps they were there to inject some black humour; instead it was just bad humour.
all in all it was a bit of a missed opportunity, but no close to being the worst film i have ever seen. i suspect i will go back to it again just to see how they got to the end of the movie.
i am not sure that the director is going to become the next guy r or quentin t, but he deserves to if only for his name: andrew goth.
it has to be a made up name.
i ended up with “cold and dark”; it’s a slick looking british horror movie. filled with interesting camera angles, an icy blue palette, hard boiled dialogue and delivery and a bit of gore. on paper that sounds like a great movie, have to admit it just didn’t keep me interested. my attention drifted and i moved from watching the movie to playing with my camera, back to the movie and so on.
while on a case john dark’s partner mortimer shade is killed but is kept alive by the parasitic monster: the grall. the scene where we know something is wrong with shade is when john dark (played by the buffed up luke goss) thinking his partner is dead is shocked when he jumps up, as they walk away another corpse spontaneously combusts. (the only problem here is that the opening sequences of the movie sets up shade as being something special and supernatural to start with…)
the case they are on is something to do with people smuggling. the ring they are after is protected. shade, now powered by grall, has powers and so together he and john dark throw out due process and do the right thing.
at first dark goes along with this, but he soon thinks that shade is losing his humanity and something has to be done about it.
and something is done, but hand on heart i was paying so little attention i think i missed it.
one of the reasons i found it hard to pay full attention to it was the moments of ott thesbing from one or two of the supporting cast. there is the scottish chief inspector, with a gorgeous clipped but full white goatee, who has a peculiar whispery and shouty delivery. rather than him being a man in charge he appears like a man who is on the merry –go-round of personality disorders.
then there is the appearance of matt lucas who can be an effective actor, but in this he goes from being sufficiently spooky to auditioning for a children’s television version of the x-files.
perhaps they were there to inject some black humour; instead it was just bad humour.
all in all it was a bit of a missed opportunity, but no close to being the worst film i have ever seen. i suspect i will go back to it again just to see how they got to the end of the movie.
i am not sure that the director is going to become the next guy r or quentin t, but he deserves to if only for his name: andrew goth.
it has to be a made up name.
ali
i never really got muhammad ali. don't know why. i just never got it.
but then i am not sure i really understood boxing as a sport (the exception being the first few rocky movies - those i got, those i loved).
but i realise that ali was a great sportsman, and that he has become an icon for not just sporting greatness but also for being a great person. he basically walked the talk.
ali suffers from parkinson's disease.
he has just been awarded the highest award that america gives to civilians: the presidential medal of freedom. there is no doubt that he deserves it.
what he doesn't deserve is to have george w bush to grab a dull photo opportunity of bush throwing a mock punch at ali.
you have to think that if ali had a pound for every time he was photographed with someone posing with a mock punch at him he would be richer than bill gates.
ali joins doris day and jp2 as holders of this medal. this august company is somewhat ruined as alan greenspan has also been award it.
but then i am not sure i really understood boxing as a sport (the exception being the first few rocky movies - those i got, those i loved).
but i realise that ali was a great sportsman, and that he has become an icon for not just sporting greatness but also for being a great person. he basically walked the talk.
ali suffers from parkinson's disease.
he has just been awarded the highest award that america gives to civilians: the presidential medal of freedom. there is no doubt that he deserves it.
what he doesn't deserve is to have george w bush to grab a dull photo opportunity of bush throwing a mock punch at ali.
you have to think that if ali had a pound for every time he was photographed with someone posing with a mock punch at him he would be richer than bill gates.
ali joins doris day and jp2 as holders of this medal. this august company is somewhat ruined as alan greenspan has also been award it.
shit
shit happens.
been a week where pretty much all i do turns to shit. some of it is my own fault and some of it is just nature's way of telling me i have bad karma.
still at least i am not tony blair, boy oh boy how bad has his week turned.
mind you nice to see clare short coming out fighting and kicking the man when he is down. next up will be glenda jackson who has offered to be a stalking horse in order to get rid of him.
you know if i was tony i'd just turn round to them and say: "you know what i think i am going to go for a fourth term. you and you and you all out of the cabinet".
been a week where pretty much all i do turns to shit. some of it is my own fault and some of it is just nature's way of telling me i have bad karma.
still at least i am not tony blair, boy oh boy how bad has his week turned.
mind you nice to see clare short coming out fighting and kicking the man when he is down. next up will be glenda jackson who has offered to be a stalking horse in order to get rid of him.
you know if i was tony i'd just turn round to them and say: "you know what i think i am going to go for a fourth term. you and you and you all out of the cabinet".
sleep
currently not getting enough of it.
currently not getting it on a regular basis.
it's making me even more cranky than normal.
add in christmas coming up, add in stupid work moments, add in the fact i am broke, add in i am getting fatter in an exponential way and well you have one very (un)happy camper.
currently not getting it on a regular basis.
it's making me even more cranky than normal.
add in christmas coming up, add in stupid work moments, add in the fact i am broke, add in i am getting fatter in an exponential way and well you have one very (un)happy camper.
Tuesday, November 08, 2005
oddness
just noticed that blogspot is placing my blogs in any old order and for the wrong days.
nice to see my ability to screw up technology is still at work.....
nice to see my ability to screw up technology is still at work.....
90-62=28
so tony has lost the 90 day clause battle.
28 days has been seen as being fine.
322 to 291 was the winning margin.
and already mr howard, the conservative party leader, has said that tony blair should go, because he has lost this vote and "failed to carry his party". i believe this is the first vote he as lost since he has come to power.
according to howard's point of view the prime minister of the uk is no more than a football manager; if you lose you should resign. what a stupid view of democracy that is. (and given the examples of tory unity in the past it’s not like they would ever have a leader for more than a month….)
ironically a lot of the opinion polls have supported tony blair's desire to see the 90 days come into affect.
so our elected parliament has seen itself potentially ignore the desires of the populace. no doubt there was some voting in order to give tony a slap, equally there has been votes that have been cast due to their principals.
in a perverse way this is a perfect example of democracy in action.
what i have heard of the debate has been good and approached seriously with little of the shouting down associated with parliament.
just a shame that the tories (so desperate to appear to be a grown up party) have already started calling for blair to resign.
in the end i think parliament got it right with a 28 day clause, but that isn't to say that blair should go. blair provided a clause and it was debated. in the past he has been pilloried for pushing policy through, that there was an open debate should be something to praise. it is after all what democracy is about.
but rather than focus on the fact that this venerable institution has once again proved its worth the tories are trying to score political goals.
no wonder they will never win.
28 days has been seen as being fine.
322 to 291 was the winning margin.
and already mr howard, the conservative party leader, has said that tony blair should go, because he has lost this vote and "failed to carry his party". i believe this is the first vote he as lost since he has come to power.
according to howard's point of view the prime minister of the uk is no more than a football manager; if you lose you should resign. what a stupid view of democracy that is. (and given the examples of tory unity in the past it’s not like they would ever have a leader for more than a month….)
ironically a lot of the opinion polls have supported tony blair's desire to see the 90 days come into affect.
so our elected parliament has seen itself potentially ignore the desires of the populace. no doubt there was some voting in order to give tony a slap, equally there has been votes that have been cast due to their principals.
in a perverse way this is a perfect example of democracy in action.
what i have heard of the debate has been good and approached seriously with little of the shouting down associated with parliament.
just a shame that the tories (so desperate to appear to be a grown up party) have already started calling for blair to resign.
in the end i think parliament got it right with a 28 day clause, but that isn't to say that blair should go. blair provided a clause and it was debated. in the past he has been pilloried for pushing policy through, that there was an open debate should be something to praise. it is after all what democracy is about.
but rather than focus on the fact that this venerable institution has once again proved its worth the tories are trying to score political goals.
no wonder they will never win.
review
mystic river, directed by clint eastwood is a fine fine film.
i sat engrossed by the fine performances of sean penn and kevin bacon (ably supported by laurence fishburne (not in a morpheus mode and a reminder of what a prescence he can be) and tim robbins).
it tells the tale of three men who were childhood friends and how they are brought together by the murder of one of their daughters.
penn plays a looking hood whose daughter is murdered, robbins plays a slightly mentally damaged worker and bacon is a local homicide cop.
as bacon investigates the murder all the clues point towards robbins as the murderer. even his wife is suspicious of him.
the tension builds. each of the characters are believable and played incredibly well.
the direction is sparse, few tricks allowing the location and the actors carry the movie.
i enjoyed it, i can see why it was such a hit when it came out.
i recommend it.
and a no prize to anyone who can spot the clue that is wrong and is used to break the case.
go rent it now!
i sat engrossed by the fine performances of sean penn and kevin bacon (ably supported by laurence fishburne (not in a morpheus mode and a reminder of what a prescence he can be) and tim robbins).
it tells the tale of three men who were childhood friends and how they are brought together by the murder of one of their daughters.
penn plays a looking hood whose daughter is murdered, robbins plays a slightly mentally damaged worker and bacon is a local homicide cop.
as bacon investigates the murder all the clues point towards robbins as the murderer. even his wife is suspicious of him.
the tension builds. each of the characters are believable and played incredibly well.
the direction is sparse, few tricks allowing the location and the actors carry the movie.
i enjoyed it, i can see why it was such a hit when it came out.
i recommend it.
and a no prize to anyone who can spot the clue that is wrong and is used to break the case.
go rent it now!
90
listening to the debate over the 90 day lock up clause for terrorists.
lord help me but david davis talked sense.
am i becoming a tory?
lord help me but david davis talked sense.
am i becoming a tory?
Monday, November 07, 2005
gorgeous
try as i might i can't keep away from 3g.
just noticed this in the guardian website.
the gorgeous one was away from parliament because he was busy doing his one man show.
it was important for him to be there as it raises money for his party, respect. there are a few passages in the piece where triple g may as well proclaim himself as the new messiah.
it does seem that that george has become more important as a celeb than he is as a politician.
though i think it is a little bit harsh on his part to claim he couldn't have known not to be there for the vote. perhaps he should have arranged his speaking around his duty in the houses of parliament? but it's ok george is not interested in democracy as such, he is just interested in hearing his own voice and lapping up the praise and adulation of those who love him.
just noticed this in the guardian website.
the gorgeous one was away from parliament because he was busy doing his one man show.
it was important for him to be there as it raises money for his party, respect. there are a few passages in the piece where triple g may as well proclaim himself as the new messiah.
it does seem that that george has become more important as a celeb than he is as a politician.
though i think it is a little bit harsh on his part to claim he couldn't have known not to be there for the vote. perhaps he should have arranged his speaking around his duty in the houses of parliament? but it's ok george is not interested in democracy as such, he is just interested in hearing his own voice and lapping up the praise and adulation of those who love him.
review
watched "the devils rejects" by rob zombie last night.
avoid.
not very good.
not very horrific.
not very interesting.
only noticibale for an appearance by diamond dallas page, who is credited as such, as opposed to just dallas page. to be honest i have no idea what happens to his character in the film.
film ends with a butch and sundance thelma and louise type ending all done to the strains of lynard skynard's freebird (a great tune that doesn't help this poor film).
avoid.
even if someone gives you a copy take evasive action.
avoid.
not very good.
not very horrific.
not very interesting.
only noticibale for an appearance by diamond dallas page, who is credited as such, as opposed to just dallas page. to be honest i have no idea what happens to his character in the film.
film ends with a butch and sundance thelma and louise type ending all done to the strains of lynard skynard's freebird (a great tune that doesn't help this poor film).
avoid.
even if someone gives you a copy take evasive action.
Saturday, November 05, 2005
moss
so kate is back.
did we ever doubt that she would be back? her lithe pouty frame gracing ads for all sorts of clothes and perfumes.
naturally enough some of the quality sundays had a picture of kate in her skimpies (after all it's national news, and very important). one of the quotes was about how she had lost none of her talent.
talent?
i am sorry where is the talent in being scrawny, pouty and being able to stand in front of camera?
she maybe very pretty but that is not really talent.
perhaps i am just being a misery guts, but looking pretty is not a talent.
did we ever doubt that she would be back? her lithe pouty frame gracing ads for all sorts of clothes and perfumes.
naturally enough some of the quality sundays had a picture of kate in her skimpies (after all it's national news, and very important). one of the quotes was about how she had lost none of her talent.
talent?
i am sorry where is the talent in being scrawny, pouty and being able to stand in front of camera?
she maybe very pretty but that is not really talent.
perhaps i am just being a misery guts, but looking pretty is not a talent.
overload
i was looking at the things i have to watch, listen to and read.
i seem to have more than i will ever have time to watch, listen to and read.
i now have trouble deciding what i will watch, listen or read next.
in order to overcome that block i buy something new, something that might appeal.
it only just adds to the block.
i think i am going to get myself a very large pizza tonight and watch something, listen to something and read something.
i seem to have more than i will ever have time to watch, listen to and read.
i now have trouble deciding what i will watch, listen or read next.
in order to overcome that block i buy something new, something that might appeal.
it only just adds to the block.
i think i am going to get myself a very large pizza tonight and watch something, listen to something and read something.
globalisation
globalisation is a subject a little like postmodernism, you think you know all about it, but at the same time you know you don't. part of this is because even the experts don't agree what it is - let alone whether it is a good thing or a bad thing. it just seems to be.
one of the attacks that is aimed at globalisation is that corporations are no longer bound by national needs, in fact they have become more powerful than nations (some argue that only nations go to war, but it might be said that halliburton helped push the war on terror into iraq where it had no reason to be...)
in looking after it's own needs a corporation will go looking for the cheapest work force to make the most profit out of what it is producing and selling.
you make it cheap - by paying cheap labour.
you sell it dear.
only it's a lopsided equation in that if you are low paid you just can't buy the goods.
so more and more companies look for cheap labour.
so you have to wonder why the americans are scared of mexican illegal immigrants .
they strike me as being the people who are going to be happy to work cheap.
which is just what the american government want.
no unions.
no healthcare.
cheap wages.
but just like the right wingers in the uk their desire to see open and free markets is always derailed by their own bigotry.
thus proving (what pretty much all sensible people knew all along) that the market unfettered is a figment of the imagination of a few people, and that regulation is needed. and that individuals need to be protected from the desires and machinations of corporations.
one of the attacks that is aimed at globalisation is that corporations are no longer bound by national needs, in fact they have become more powerful than nations (some argue that only nations go to war, but it might be said that halliburton helped push the war on terror into iraq where it had no reason to be...)
in looking after it's own needs a corporation will go looking for the cheapest work force to make the most profit out of what it is producing and selling.
you make it cheap - by paying cheap labour.
you sell it dear.
only it's a lopsided equation in that if you are low paid you just can't buy the goods.
so more and more companies look for cheap labour.
so you have to wonder why the americans are scared of mexican illegal immigrants .
they strike me as being the people who are going to be happy to work cheap.
which is just what the american government want.
no unions.
no healthcare.
cheap wages.
but just like the right wingers in the uk their desire to see open and free markets is always derailed by their own bigotry.
thus proving (what pretty much all sensible people knew all along) that the market unfettered is a figment of the imagination of a few people, and that regulation is needed. and that individuals need to be protected from the desires and machinations of corporations.
bonfire
ah bonfire night.
i love it, but rarely go see any displays.
which i supposed tells you all you need to know about me...
i love the sound of the fireworks fizzing, whooshing, whizzing, banging and exploding in the air. i love catching a glimpse of them when they go from being just a sound flying up to a flower of lights gently wafting down to earth.
the colours the sounds the smell.
i love it all.
and to think we owe it all to an attempt to blow up parliament.
i love it, but rarely go see any displays.
which i supposed tells you all you need to know about me...
i love the sound of the fireworks fizzing, whooshing, whizzing, banging and exploding in the air. i love catching a glimpse of them when they go from being just a sound flying up to a flower of lights gently wafting down to earth.
the colours the sounds the smell.
i love it all.
and to think we owe it all to an attempt to blow up parliament.
Friday, November 04, 2005
revenge
well ross kemp may have been handbagged but spare a thought for this poor chap.
his ex decided to get even for him splitting up with her by; well frankly, going postal on him, he was lucky she stopped short of doing a bobbit on him.
true he had to suffer having his genitals super glued to his stomach (i am jealous mine doesn't reach that far - though my stomach is getting closer to it as age goes on...), super glued the cheeks of his arse together, put various colours of nail varnish in his hair, as well as being used to write an obscene comment on his back.
then he had to walk naked to find someone to help him.....
he is currently suing her for damages and only £17k - seems like she is getting off cheaply to me.
her attorney claims it was a consensual act and that for awhile they were laughing with each other about it. mmmm
only in america.
remember ross you have been warned - hide the super glue now!
his ex decided to get even for him splitting up with her by; well frankly, going postal on him, he was lucky she stopped short of doing a bobbit on him.
true he had to suffer having his genitals super glued to his stomach (i am jealous mine doesn't reach that far - though my stomach is getting closer to it as age goes on...), super glued the cheeks of his arse together, put various colours of nail varnish in his hair, as well as being used to write an obscene comment on his back.
then he had to walk naked to find someone to help him.....
he is currently suing her for damages and only £17k - seems like she is getting off cheaply to me.
her attorney claims it was a consensual act and that for awhile they were laughing with each other about it. mmmm
only in america.
remember ross you have been warned - hide the super glue now!
hard
so eastenders hard man gets a slap from the missus and everyone gets to have a laugh at his expense.
but to ross kemp's credit he didn't go and seek medical help for his fat lip, he went off to work.
meanwhile rebekah wade, editor (or head hitter - geddit... oh i kill me sometimes) stewed for several hours in a police cell. did she deserve it? yes, but not for hitting kemp but for all the stuff she has printed in her newspaper.
one of the recent campaigns being about domestic violence.
one of the really annoying things about the press is its ability to pry into the private lives of people. yet wade et al always seem to be able to get away with it and we know nothing about them.
they make and break celebrities (no big deal there really) but they also have a large impact on the morals of the country - yet they can be off slapping their husbands, doing drugs, having extra marital affairs (and that’s just the staff of the spectator) and who knows what else. yet they get to pontificate to rest of us.
hopefully wade's short time in the cells, and several days as a hounded celeb will help her realise what an impact it can have.
do i think it will make a difference?
no i don't.
but to ross kemp's credit he didn't go and seek medical help for his fat lip, he went off to work.
meanwhile rebekah wade, editor (or head hitter - geddit... oh i kill me sometimes) stewed for several hours in a police cell. did she deserve it? yes, but not for hitting kemp but for all the stuff she has printed in her newspaper.
one of the recent campaigns being about domestic violence.
one of the really annoying things about the press is its ability to pry into the private lives of people. yet wade et al always seem to be able to get away with it and we know nothing about them.
they make and break celebrities (no big deal there really) but they also have a large impact on the morals of the country - yet they can be off slapping their husbands, doing drugs, having extra marital affairs (and that’s just the staff of the spectator) and who knows what else. yet they get to pontificate to rest of us.
hopefully wade's short time in the cells, and several days as a hounded celeb will help her realise what an impact it can have.
do i think it will make a difference?
no i don't.
gone
so blunkett has gone.
another minister from new labour has succumbed to the joys of capitalism.
funny thing is blunkett became so unlikeable during his stint as home secretary where he mixed the sensible and the right wing with no sense of irony.
as work and pension secretary he was going to be playing a major role in blair's reform policy.
but now he isn't.
the first time he had to resign it was because he let his personal life become far too public.
this second time it was partly because he, again, let his personal life become too public and because he was found to be ignoring the rules that had been set out for ministers.
yes we all know that 1] it is voluntary and 2] he could ignore the advice that was given - but bearing in mind all the claims that there would be no sleaze with new labour, remembering how zero tolerance he was over crime you would have thought he would have made sure he was within the rules at all times.
this is not much to ask the people who are telling us how to live our lives.
his two major "crimes" seem to have been
1] a public relations problem - he was seeing a young bird (good for him - you go for it david!) this was being reported that he was losing control of himself, spending his nights out and about flirting. again good for him, politicians should have a life and they should live it.
but being new labour he was being portrayed as someone who had been turned by the bright lights of london and incapable of doing his job.
2] the fact he had taken on a directorship that was going to earn him money via shares, this was being done in order for him to leave a trust fund for his kids. he hadn't bothered to check with the various ethics committees that members of parliament have before he took the post. for all his talk about it being voluntary or unclear a man in his position should check and then double check to be sure.
the funny part of it was that it was a dna testing company. you have to laugh.
it's not like he didn't have experience of the services being offered!
oddly there have been two comments in the papers about it.
one from deborah orr in the independent (no point in posting the link you have to pay for it.... why bother even putting it there)who says it is a bit of a disaster him not being still in cabinet as he was a bulwark against some of tony's more outrageous pensions and back to work schemes.
and then in the evening standard yasmin alibhai-brown has a piece that says she felt his exit was dignified and was almost sorry to see him go, and that this was the result of a witch hunt. nothing to do with politics just an attack on a personality. but before she finished she had to have a dig at him, by pretty much saying he had a grope of her.
ah david we will miss you....
for about 4 months.
another minister from new labour has succumbed to the joys of capitalism.
funny thing is blunkett became so unlikeable during his stint as home secretary where he mixed the sensible and the right wing with no sense of irony.
as work and pension secretary he was going to be playing a major role in blair's reform policy.
but now he isn't.
the first time he had to resign it was because he let his personal life become far too public.
this second time it was partly because he, again, let his personal life become too public and because he was found to be ignoring the rules that had been set out for ministers.
yes we all know that 1] it is voluntary and 2] he could ignore the advice that was given - but bearing in mind all the claims that there would be no sleaze with new labour, remembering how zero tolerance he was over crime you would have thought he would have made sure he was within the rules at all times.
this is not much to ask the people who are telling us how to live our lives.
his two major "crimes" seem to have been
1] a public relations problem - he was seeing a young bird (good for him - you go for it david!) this was being reported that he was losing control of himself, spending his nights out and about flirting. again good for him, politicians should have a life and they should live it.
but being new labour he was being portrayed as someone who had been turned by the bright lights of london and incapable of doing his job.
2] the fact he had taken on a directorship that was going to earn him money via shares, this was being done in order for him to leave a trust fund for his kids. he hadn't bothered to check with the various ethics committees that members of parliament have before he took the post. for all his talk about it being voluntary or unclear a man in his position should check and then double check to be sure.
the funny part of it was that it was a dna testing company. you have to laugh.
it's not like he didn't have experience of the services being offered!
oddly there have been two comments in the papers about it.
one from deborah orr in the independent (no point in posting the link you have to pay for it.... why bother even putting it there)who says it is a bit of a disaster him not being still in cabinet as he was a bulwark against some of tony's more outrageous pensions and back to work schemes.
and then in the evening standard yasmin alibhai-brown has a piece that says she felt his exit was dignified and was almost sorry to see him go, and that this was the result of a witch hunt. nothing to do with politics just an attack on a personality. but before she finished she had to have a dig at him, by pretty much saying he had a grope of her.
ah david we will miss you....
for about 4 months.
Thursday, November 03, 2005
pics
my pal paul challenged me to take some happy pictures.
it is a tough one, i am not one of nature's happy people. to me the glass is never half full, it is always empty.
plus paul wasn't stupid he issued his challenge at that time of year when i at my most vulnerable, when i can't back the utter disdain for most people as they all indulge in the frolics and shenanigans that is christmas.
yes i admit, i don't deny it. i am a grinch.
i am the daddy grinch.
i am the grinch master.
the overgrinch.
the ubergrinch.
i hate christmas.
remember that. (actually you won't be able to forget it as i will moan and drone on about it for weeks.)
what in all that runs through blue cheese has this go to do with pictures you all chant.
not a lot i reply, stealing a hackneyed catch phrase along the way...
here are some pictures i took on the way to work this very day.
they are happier than most i take because:
1] during the day.
2] they involve nature.
3] no people.
enjoy.
i like the fact this sign is there - because you woul just fancy a dip in this coffee coloured water..... not.
and just to prove the cynical heart still beats. here is one i call water feature- it makes all ponds look exceptional.
it is a tough one, i am not one of nature's happy people. to me the glass is never half full, it is always empty.
plus paul wasn't stupid he issued his challenge at that time of year when i at my most vulnerable, when i can't back the utter disdain for most people as they all indulge in the frolics and shenanigans that is christmas.
yes i admit, i don't deny it. i am a grinch.
i am the daddy grinch.
i am the grinch master.
the overgrinch.
the ubergrinch.
i hate christmas.
remember that. (actually you won't be able to forget it as i will moan and drone on about it for weeks.)
what in all that runs through blue cheese has this go to do with pictures you all chant.
not a lot i reply, stealing a hackneyed catch phrase along the way...
here are some pictures i took on the way to work this very day.
they are happier than most i take because:
1] during the day.
2] they involve nature.
3] no people.
enjoy.
i like the fact this sign is there - because you woul just fancy a dip in this coffee coloured water..... not.
and just to prove the cynical heart still beats. here is one i call water feature- it makes all ponds look exceptional.
treat
there are times when it is worth coming into work. today was one of them.
got a package. mmm not what i thought, not going to be interesting at all, ooh a little deflated.
by jove and all things that issue forth from the bottoms of the lords of fire it is a rare old treat indeed.
a pal, who knows me far too well, had sent me perhaps one of the greatest toys of all time.
the die hard palz
i am a die hard (geddit it) bruce willis fan - you will never hear me say he has made a duff film (well it is easy - as he never has). with die hard he starred in a seminal action film, that pitted joe average against the forces of evil and joe average with a quip, a cigarette and a well placed expletive came out on top.
just check these out and you know this is the bestest toy ever (until the next bestest one comes out)
and a big yippie-kai-yay goes out to inspector jim (or big fellah to those who know him) (gruff exterior but a heart of gold and always a kind word to the local lags).
got a package. mmm not what i thought, not going to be interesting at all, ooh a little deflated.
by jove and all things that issue forth from the bottoms of the lords of fire it is a rare old treat indeed.
a pal, who knows me far too well, had sent me perhaps one of the greatest toys of all time.
the die hard palz
i am a die hard (geddit it) bruce willis fan - you will never hear me say he has made a duff film (well it is easy - as he never has). with die hard he starred in a seminal action film, that pitted joe average against the forces of evil and joe average with a quip, a cigarette and a well placed expletive came out on top.
just check these out and you know this is the bestest toy ever (until the next bestest one comes out)
and a big yippie-kai-yay goes out to inspector jim (or big fellah to those who know him) (gruff exterior but a heart of gold and always a kind word to the local lags).
windy
when i was out this morning it was a bit windy. cleared the sleep out of my head and mussed up my locks.
the office is currently windy as my stomach does an impression of hurricane wilma. as i tip tap away at the keyboard the rumble of my guts sounds like the beginning of the hosts of heaven and hell squaring up for the final battle for the soul of humanity.
what issues forth is the trumpet call to war (hell it is the full brass band - starting with a strained reedy note on a piccolo ending up being a full powerful elongated note played on a tuba) the stench that follows is something from the depths of dante's lowest and foulest ring - but then imagine it has been heated up just to give it that extra zing.
i just wish i knew what it was i have eaten that has done this to me and i would avoid it again and again.
right i think i am off to rattle the doors and break some windows. if you see a mushroom cloud over east london - don't worry it's just the noxious fumes issuing out of my bowels.
the office is currently windy as my stomach does an impression of hurricane wilma. as i tip tap away at the keyboard the rumble of my guts sounds like the beginning of the hosts of heaven and hell squaring up for the final battle for the soul of humanity.
what issues forth is the trumpet call to war (hell it is the full brass band - starting with a strained reedy note on a piccolo ending up being a full powerful elongated note played on a tuba) the stench that follows is something from the depths of dante's lowest and foulest ring - but then imagine it has been heated up just to give it that extra zing.
i just wish i knew what it was i have eaten that has done this to me and i would avoid it again and again.
right i think i am off to rattle the doors and break some windows. if you see a mushroom cloud over east london - don't worry it's just the noxious fumes issuing out of my bowels.
buses
i am a bus user. i spend a lot of time on the 25 bus going to and from home or work or going to and from home and central london.
the 25 is one of the famous bendy buses. it also seems to be designed around the famine or feast principle - sometimes it is empty and spacious, other times it is packed to the gills with people (and you never get thrust up against the person you want either...)
my theory is that eventually you will see all of life's mystery and all of life's differences if you stay on the 25.
recently i have had to "suffer":
fat child stuffing her face with chips that had been covered in an inch of ketchup and mayo - looking more like an abstract work of art than a meal. it was obvious that she was her mum's little (well actually very large) princess and was prepared to play the spoilt kid role to the hilt. there were several times when i wanted to stuff all the chips in her face. including when she got stroppy with the mum for 1] not wanting to finish off the chips she had left 2] for not wanting to carry the kids rubbish and 3] when the mum dared to point out she was behaving badly.
cemented my dislike of children.
mobile phones playing crap urban music, and urban music that is stealing from 90s disco. the "tunes" played are never any good, the quality of the sound is so poor as to make your grannies wind-up 78 record player sound like it is from b&o, the lads who play these great tunes always try to look hard but somehow they look embarrassed by the tinny noise that comes out of their phones.
(how i am dreading the advent of the video ipod!)
then there are the new urban warfare pushchairs, they take up 2 to 3 times the amount of space as the old small buggy did, and does nothing more for your money. it's a little like the 4x4 that populate the rugged hilly roads of london. the drivers of these little tanks don't seem to care who they bang into, or what space they take up. but they are quick to let you know that you are in their way.
then there was the african who decided to declare that the world would be a better place if all pakistanis were not in it. the language he used though was of a more earthy nature. he had strategically waited until he away from the people he was abusing before he started. i think that this is the third such incident i have seen
yesterday it was the african woman who was reading from her bible quite loudly. at first i thought she was on the phone to a mate, then i realised she was quoting biblical texts. to her credit (and to my amazement) she kept it up for the time i on the bus without missing a beat, no stumble, no hesitation.
ah is it any wonder i look forward to the bus?
the 25 is one of the famous bendy buses. it also seems to be designed around the famine or feast principle - sometimes it is empty and spacious, other times it is packed to the gills with people (and you never get thrust up against the person you want either...)
my theory is that eventually you will see all of life's mystery and all of life's differences if you stay on the 25.
recently i have had to "suffer":
fat child stuffing her face with chips that had been covered in an inch of ketchup and mayo - looking more like an abstract work of art than a meal. it was obvious that she was her mum's little (well actually very large) princess and was prepared to play the spoilt kid role to the hilt. there were several times when i wanted to stuff all the chips in her face. including when she got stroppy with the mum for 1] not wanting to finish off the chips she had left 2] for not wanting to carry the kids rubbish and 3] when the mum dared to point out she was behaving badly.
cemented my dislike of children.
mobile phones playing crap urban music, and urban music that is stealing from 90s disco. the "tunes" played are never any good, the quality of the sound is so poor as to make your grannies wind-up 78 record player sound like it is from b&o, the lads who play these great tunes always try to look hard but somehow they look embarrassed by the tinny noise that comes out of their phones.
(how i am dreading the advent of the video ipod!)
then there are the new urban warfare pushchairs, they take up 2 to 3 times the amount of space as the old small buggy did, and does nothing more for your money. it's a little like the 4x4 that populate the rugged hilly roads of london. the drivers of these little tanks don't seem to care who they bang into, or what space they take up. but they are quick to let you know that you are in their way.
then there was the african who decided to declare that the world would be a better place if all pakistanis were not in it. the language he used though was of a more earthy nature. he had strategically waited until he away from the people he was abusing before he started. i think that this is the third such incident i have seen
yesterday it was the african woman who was reading from her bible quite loudly. at first i thought she was on the phone to a mate, then i realised she was quoting biblical texts. to her credit (and to my amazement) she kept it up for the time i on the bus without missing a beat, no stumble, no hesitation.
ah is it any wonder i look forward to the bus?
mornings
some people are (emma for one) i am not.
do not like mornings, do not understand mornings.
why can't the day start at a reasonable hour?
say midday.
do not like mornings, do not understand mornings.
why can't the day start at a reasonable hour?
say midday.
Wednesday, November 02, 2005
november
so this is november.
only just started and i am not liking it.
can we have october back please.
only just started and i am not liking it.
can we have october back please.
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